It wasn't long after that incident that Hitsugaya made his case clearly known to the Divisions, and specifically Unohana, for the permanent release of Hinamori Momo.

"I can no longer trust her to continue living with this lack of security." Hitsugaya declared. "Her stay living in the psychiatric ward can also only worsen her mental condition."

Unohana nodded in guilt, but still had to make her point known to him. "Concerning her specific deliria, our test results have been inconclusive to whether or not she has recovered from –"

"How much more does she have to suffer?" Hitsugaya interrupted sternly, "I've been with her enough to see that it's no longer Aizen that is tormenting her, but this place!"

"How can you be so certain?"

Hitsugaya paused for a moment in an attempt to find the right words, but realized that there was only one truly honest answer that he could give her. "I'm not."

No one would ever truly understand why Unohana actually agreed with the release, but under a promised agreement, from one captain to another, Hitsugaya was to occasionally monitor her behaviour until the medical community would be able to secretly make a definitive conclusion on Hinamori's mental health.

Momo raised her head proudly as she wore her black shinigami's uniform again. Hitsugaya's warm smile filled her soul with joy, as he waited near the entrance of the psychiatric ward to take her home. He wouldn't tell her however, that he was waiting near that entrance ever since Unohana agreed to set her free and that her position in the Gotei was obviously still revoked.

"May I take you home?" he asked.

Nodding enthusiastically, she turned and made a half-hearted dash in front of him. "As long as you can catch up with me!" she yelled.

Although jumping from rooftop to rooftop would seem normal and commonplace to a shinigami, Momo felt an unexpected surge of excitement as her weightlessness flowed with the rustling of the wind. The pores of her body savored the cold sensation on her skin, and her eyes marvelled from the skyward view of the world she lived in. So overwhelmed with the joy of true freedom, she wanted to sing that joy to the skies, if she only knew what song to sing.

As she decided to sprint back to her place, she saw Hitsugaya already waiting for her on her rooftop.

"About time you showed up."

Momo quietly sat down with Hitsugaya on the rooftop. The view of the stars above was much more beautiful than from her cell.

--

"Unohana told me that you would have to keep an eye on me for at least the first month. Is that true?"

"Yes." he said blatantly, "However, it wasn't that duty that encouraged me to walk you home."

Holding back her tears, she nodded and returned a smile. "I suppose since that you're already here –". She paused. "You could stay with me for the night."

"I'll be on your roof if you need me."

"Silly!" she giggled, "Who in their right mind sleeps on a roof?" [*large bright flashing arrows appear, pointing to Hitsugaya*] "What's wrong with sleeping inside? If not that, you should at least keep me company for a while."

"Are you sure I wouldn't be intruding?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's not intruding if I want you to come in, knucklehead!"

As they entered the once abandoned quarters of Hinamori Momo, they were surprised to see that it was as spotless as Ikkaku's bald head. Momo picked up a small folded note on the kitchen counter. As she read the note, she felt overwhelmed with joy. Reading aloud, she said, "Welcome home – Fourth Division."

Hitsugaya however, had already seen past their good nature. He had realized that everything, and anything that would ever remind her of Aizen was removed. Hitsugaya became worried that Momo had already realized this truth as well and was hiding her feelings. Hitsugaya felt disappointed that the Fourth Division would stoop so low as to deceive her this way. [Although this wasn't as wrong as stealing Soi Fong's gigantic stash of Yourichi stuff.]

His train of thought was interrupted by her sweet words.

"Is it alright if I take a shower?" Momo asked. Being in a straightjacket for a month, after all, didn't help with hygiene.

Blushing slightly, he replied, "Didn't they offer you a shower before you left?

"I didn't want to be in there longer than I had to."

Taking an extremely relaxed laid out pose on her sofa, he nodded. It wasn't until ten long minutes and a gratuitous anime girl shower scene later that she came back to her guest.

"How long does it take you to —" Hitsugaya was at a loss for words. She was beautiful, yet there wasn't anything that she was wearing that made her so. In speaking, she really wasn't wearing much at all-- loose fanel pyjamas and an open housecoat. She didn't even bother combing back up the attractive bun in her hair.

"Oh, this?" she replied, pointing to her choice in apparel. "I hope you don't mind that I wear something less restrictive." Understanding that this was a reasonable change from her recent life, he decided that he would have to keep it cool. Of course, that plan didn't last long when she leaped onto him on the sofa.

"I still owe you for all those hugs."

Before he had a chance to react, she squeezed him tightly in her arms, rubbing herself up and down his body in the purest form of a girl hug. As Momo lifted her head to get up from her position, she felt a loving hand stroke her hair. As she turned her face back down towards his, his eyes dropped lovingly, and his face shone with absolute content. Momo leaned forward, and as they closed their eyes, their lips locked. However, as soon as they were getting into the heat of their embrace, Momo pulled herself away. Hitsugaya silently agreed that this was going too fast.

Getting off the sofa and straightening himself out, he said, "I better get back to my own quarters. It's getting late."

"Couldn't you at least stay with me for tonight?" she asked.

Hitsugaya nodded. "I understand," he replied, "I'll stay on your roof then, so then you can call if you need me."

"What did I tell you about sleeping on roofs, silly? I want you to sleep with me. A bed mattress is much more comfortable than roof tiles anyways. "

"Whoa! Are you still crazy?!"

She giggled. "We won't be doing anything like that."

Hitsugaya, as a man, couldn't comprehend any truth in those words. Sleeping in the same bed and nothing will happen. Yeah right.

--